With beaming eyes, and joyous mien, Oh! make Maria all thy care. Breathe thy soft gales, so pure and bland, Of life, and wake with viewless hand The cords whence health's sweet musick springs. The lonely walk, the twilight hour, And mingling murmurs still control, But lead where every scene around, The paleness of her cheek so white, Oh! would'st thou thus Maria bless, A HYMN OF GRATITUDE TO HYGEIA. NYMPH, of smiles and bloom the Queen, Hygeia, ever young and fair, Hast thou indeed propitious been, And hast thou heard thy suppliant's prayer? And does thy bloom with softest glow Oh then receive my grateful lay To bless the goodness thou hast shewn ; But ah, I fear thou wilt not stay For feeling o'er her cheek will rise And spread a warmer glow, than thine; And soul will from her beaming eyes Look with a lustre more divine. And kindness on her lip will play In sweeter smiles, than thou canst give ; Yet do not take thy smiles away, But there united let them live. And, oh, forgive the maid, though she Seem now and then to slight thy power,. And stealing from thy gaiety, To court alone a serious hour. 'Tis not her fault, her heart was warm'd Then think it nobler far to share Nor mind nor heart one charm display THE BOSTON REVIEW, FOR APRIL, 1811. Librum tuum legi, et quam diligentissime potui annotavi quae commutanda, quae eximenda arbitrarer. Nam ego dicere verum assuevi. Neque ulli patientius reprehenduntur, quam qui maxime laudari merentur. Plin. ARTICLE 25. The Sequel to the Sketch of the Denominations of the Christian World; being testimonies in behalf of Christian candour and unanimity, by divines of the church of England, the kirk of Scotland, and among the Protestant Dissenters. To which is prefixed an Essay on the right of private judgment in matters of religion. By John Evans, A. M. Master of a Seminary for a limited number of Pupils, Pullin's Row, Islington. " Is Christ divided ?” Paul. First American edition. Boston, printed by John Eliot, jun. pp. 195. 12mo. THIS is one of the most interesting publications which we have ever seen in favour of christian candour and unanimity. It proves that the greatest divines have been indeed the best, and that the most learned have been the most charitable. The mere perusal of the names, whose authority is here brought forward in favour of christian fellowship and love, would be enough, one would think, to awaken the curiosity, and then to abash the self-sufficiency of any one, who had unhappily fallen under the dominion of the spirit of exclusion, and Pharisaick self-conceit. The value of this book would have been increased, if a few testimonies had been admitted from distinguished divines out of Great Britain, and also of laymen; for in truth the testimonies of laymen on this subject are far more numerous than of ecclesiasticks; and this ought to be seriously pondered by contentions clergymen. This collection of testimonies is introduced by an Essay on the right of private judgment, which appears rather to be a sensible sermon on this text; Why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?” But instead of a text, we have this motto prefixed, which is very expressive of the design of the book. In necessariis-Unitas ; In non necessariis-Libertas; In utrisque-Charitas. The authors here quoted are divided into three classes, as they belong to the church of England, the church of Scotland, and the protestant dissenters. There are none quoted, more ancient than Chillingworth, who died 1644; "the first writer," says Mr. Evans, "who ably and completely vindicated the reformation against the papists, in his immortal work the Religion of Protestants a safe way to Salvation." Let the following passage be read, and pondered, and remembered; it is the marrow of many a discourse on charity and peace, though in many a professed discourse on these subjects, the truth it contains has been strangely forgotten, or kept out of sight. "This is most certain, that, to reduce christians to unity of communion, there are but two ways that may be conceived probable; the one by taking away diversity of opinions, touching matters of religion; the other by shewing, that the diversity of opinions, which is among the several sects of christians, ought to be no hinderance to their unity in communion. Now the former of these is not to be hoped for without a miracle. What then remains, but that the other way must be taken, and christians must be taught to set a higher value upon those high points of faith and obedience, wherein they agree, than upon those of less moment, wherein they differ; and understand, that agreement in those ought to be more effectual to join them in one communion, than their difference in other things of less moment to divide them. "Let all men believe the scriptures, and them only, and endeavour to believe them in the true sense, and require no more of others, and they shall find this not only a better, but the only means to restore unity. And, if no more than this were required of any man to make him capable of church communion, then all men, so qualified, though they were different in opinion, yet, notwithstanding any such difference, must be, of necessity, one in communion. "The presumptuous imposing of the senses of men upon the general words of God, and laying them upon men's consciences together; this vain conceit, that we can speak of the things of God better than in the words of God; this deifying our own interpretations, and enforcing them upon others; this restraining of the Word of God from that latitude and generality, and the understandings of men from that liberty wherein Christ and his apostles left them, is, and hath been, the only fountain of all the schisms of the church, and that which makes them immortal. Take away these walls of separation, and all will quickly be one. Require of christians only to believe in Christ, and to call no man master but him only; let those leave claiming infallibility that have no title to it; and let them, that in their words disclaim it, (as protestants do) disclaim it likewise in their actions. In a word, restore christians to their just and full liberty of captivating their understanding to scripture only; and then, as rivers when they have a free passage run all to the ocean, so it may well be hoped, by God's blessing, that universal liberty, thus moderated, may quickly reduce Christendom to TRUTH and UNITY." Very fine is the extract (p. 26.) from the ever memorable John Hales, of Eaton, who was "tired of this uncharitable world!" Not less worthy of attention is the extract from bishop Jeremy Taylor; and though it is by no means the most eloquent and powerful testimony which might have been selected from his works, in favour of christian liberty, yet it is worthy of notice, as containing the eastern fable from which Dr. Franklin took his famous chapter of Genesis, or parable on persecution. The great English divines of the 17th century, who lived during the troublesome times of the commonwealth, and who felt, as well as saw completely exemplified the evils of religious dissension, bigotry, and fanaticism, were happy in being born when religious liberty was rather better understood than by the first reformers. The escutcheons of Luther, Calvin, and Socinus, are blotted with stains of persecution; and the treatment of Carlostadt, of Servetus, and of F. Davides will not be forgotten, as long as there are Lutherans, Calvinists and Socinians in christendom to reproach one another; while the names contained in this list are all pure from the suspicion of intole rance. The compiler of this book does not appear to have been very familiar with the writings of all those whom he quotes, or he would have inserted many passages much more striking from the works of Sykes, Hoadly, Jortin, Baxter, Evans, and others, who were professed advocates for the cause which he has at heart. Jortin's inimitable preface to the first volume of his remarks on Ecclesiastical History, might have been published almost entire in this connexion; it is impossible to read it without rapture. There are several passages in Baxter, which |